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Canada to arm Kurdish forces fighting IS

Canada has begun the process for acquiring small arms and light support weapons for Kurdish fighters in Iraq and intends to deliver the equipment as soon as possible, the Canadian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“The acquisition of the equipment is underway,” the statement said on Tuesday. “The intent remains to deliver the items as quickly as possible, in line with suppliers’ ability to provide the quantities sought.” Although no timeframe has been given, the Iraqi government had signed a written approval for the delivery of the arms in December of 2016. At present, the Canadian Foreign and Defense Ministries are fine tuning administrative arrangements to ensure “adequate controls” are in place to regulate the use of the equipment. “Once signed by the government of Iraq and by the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, These arrangements will provide Canada the assurances required to proceed with the contribution,” the statement added.
Canada is a member of the US-led coalition against ISIL and has provided significant capacity-building support for the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga troops.—Agencies